Pixel Art Details

Title:	Kiara Vs. Cragrog
Pixel Artist:	venstor (Level 1 Quiet One :: 114 points)
Posted:	8/31/2005 02:36
Palette:	22 colors
Statistics:	14 comments 3 faves 0 avatars
Demihuman girl with an axe takes on a giant crab monster. This probably isn't going to end well. The biggest piece of pixel art I've ever done. Half-heartedly attempted some dynamic lighting, but I probably didn't handle it realistically at all. I could work it some more, but after looking at this for a week, I'm sick of it.

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Transformer Guy (Level 1 Depressed) @ 5/6/2006 09:50

Bye bye Demihuman Girl. This is really cool. 5/5 and fav.

Saboteur (Level 4 Shichikyu) @ 9/5/2005 20:00

I'd love this peice if you just took the girl out completely. The monster is nicely designed, textured, and shaded. The girl's got all sorts of issues. Like her left arm's shoulder-to-elbow section is very short, her breasts are completely flat looking, she's holding the axe as an ornament rather than something she's going to swing, the white clothing looks out of place, the glow on her hand is stronger than that on the monster's mettalic body, and her stomach just looks weird, for some reason.

If it weren't for her tail, her boots, and the axe, I'd think you stole someone's crablike pixel art and added your own creation beside it.

venstor (Level 1 Quiet One) @ 9/4/2005 16:10

My style for humans has evolved out of a more cartooney one, (note the four fingers and general facial shape) but I was trying to do things a little more realistically than I might typically so that I could practice anatomy. I'm fixing the lighting on her, but I'm afraid the general design will stay the same.

I probably attempted something above my skill level with this whole piece, but I figure I have to challenge myself or I'm never going to get better. Thanks to everyone who's commented.

sedgemonkey (Level 11 Coelacanth) @ 9/2/2005 08:31

Blick sure did provide a lot of critique points, but a couple of things fall into the subjective category in my opinion. I think "over AA" is more of a taste thing than some hard and fast rule. I enjoy some extreme AA along with the more sparing usage found in Blick's excellent work.

As for the weird girl that seems to be getting some harsh words... I don't know venstor's intentions, but to me it looks like an exaggerated style.

me7356 (Level 4 Murderer) @ 9/1/2005 18:35

I hate the girl, and love the crab.

The girl looks just plan messed up. She hurts my eyes. I just can't describe it, I just hate her.

Now the crab is beautiful. It looks like you spent an eternity on the crab, and did a half-ass job on the girl. I guess it IS half-hearted...

fr0st (Level 4 Killer Klown) @ 9/1/2005 17:14

DUUUUUDDDDDEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

*cough*

yea not bad!

*heh heh*

venstor (Level 1 Quiet One) @ 8/31/2005 16:56

Thank you for the detailed critique, Blick. I freely admit that shading is a huge problem area for me. I think I'll try following through on your suggestions and posting a WIP thread, because I'm not experienced enough to get these things right on my own. I knew the lighting on the crab looked wrong, but I didn't know I'd over anti-aliased. I was just trying to make things smooth, but anti-aliasing is so much fun to do that I guess I overdid it.

Blick (Level 7 Captain) @ 8/31/2005 16:18

Some of your lines are over anti-aliased and generally ugly. The lines that really look wrong are her cleavage and lines under her ribcage. They're all way too defined, I think. I've always preferred the look of showing form with shadows, rather than cutting into the shape with lines. Her knees might be too defined too.

Then there's some things about her anatomy that I don't like much, like the arm and hand holding the monster. I'm not sure what it is about her forearm that looks so wrong, but I think it's because it looks like she's pressing the back of her hand against the beast instead of her palm. It's really her thumb that makes it look that way, the thumb is pushed too far towards the back of her hand and it looks awkward. Then there's a lot of pillow shading going on in her hair, breasts which is, in some occurances, caused by your over anti-aliasing. The monster's highlights and the ambient green glow is over anti-aliased or simply over done as well. I really doubt the highlight in the ambient glow should be just as strong on the monster's left (viewer's right) as it is on it's right. Actually, it looks like the ambient on the monster's left is stronger than on it's right, which is really wrong.

I do have to say you did well with the scene and got some really nice textures, especially on the monster's skin, in there. It just looks to me like you tried to make things too complex and it just made it look blurry and a bit sloppy.

venstor (Level 1 Quiet One) @ 8/31/2005 16:01

phishit: This grew out of a concept drawing for my game, so you could very well see a variation of the Cragrog again. As for the hand, press your hand up against a flat surface and look at it from the side. That's basically what it looks like, although I still drew it somewhat awkwardly.

The green glow on the girl was the very last thing I did, and that's what I consider to be half-hearted. I'd already shaded her otherwise when I realized her lighting didn't match that of the monster, so I tried to add a green tinge to her shadows without screwing up what I'd already done. If I'd planned things out better at the beginning, the lighting would be more consistent.

Phishit (Level 1 Rookie) @ 8/31/2005 09:45

That is some pixeling there venstor! Is it just me, or does her left hand look awkward? Still that Crab would make a kick ass enemy for Illicit Soul.

Faktablad (Level 6 SWAT) @ 8/31/2005 09:35

"Only issue with the lighting seems to be that the woman doesn't seem to have the same intense green glow as the monster." Same goes for the red glow. That crab monster is excellent.

Badassbill (Level 11 Psychopath) @ 8/31/2005 08:46

I love this piece, exeptional lighting and shading.

The B.O.B. (Level 11 Master Assassin) @ 8/31/2005 08:40

"If Britney Spears was a demon how would she look like?"

love the colors on this on...too ASSome for words...

sedgemonkey (Level 11 Coelacanth) @ 8/31/2005 08:05

The lighting looks excellent -- not too shabby for a "half-hearted" attempt. Only issue with the lighting seems to be that the woman doesn't seem to have the same intense green glow as the monster.

Amazing texture on the monster and a very Jim Henson creature vibe to the whole piece.

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